Fear of Infinity
by liketolaugh
Summary: When Loki mentions two more Infinity Stones, aside from the Tesseract, that fell to Earth thousands of years before, the Avengers are thrown into a centuries-old war between Dark Matter and Innocence - also known as the stones of Mind and Soul. Features all Avengers and Redeemed!Loki.
1. A Long-Held Rivalry

**A/N: Ha! First dibs on D. Gray-man/Avengers crossover! Heh. You know, when I first found out that there weren't any of these around, I was pretty put out. And then I tried to put them together myself and was like 'oh'. But. It does work! This is proof! Not sure how many people will be interested, though... *depressed* Still. Please read!**

**Title: Fear of Infinity**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Loki mentions two more Infinity Stones, aside from the Tesseract, that fell to Earth thousands of years before, the Avengers are thrown into a centuries-old war between Dark Matter and Innocence - also known as the stones of Mind and Soul.**

**Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.**

* * *

**Thousands of Years Before**

"Daddy?"

Road Noah looked down at her father with wide, violet eyes. Noah smiled up at where she perched in a tree, one of the few that had survived the flood. "Yes, Road?"

"What's this?"

She held out her hand, a smooth, round green gem nestled in it, almost too big to hold, seeming to almost glow from within. Noah looked startled.

"I can't say I know."

Road pouted. "But Daddy-!"

"Where did you find it?" Wisely looked fascinated, leaning close to the gem to examine it.

"In the tree," she said quietly. "It had a big gash in it, and this was inside."

"Put it back, dear. It might be dangerous," Noah told her.

She sighed and slumped, dejected. "Okay." And she reached up to put it back, but it tumbled from her small hand and fell to shatter against the ground.

When it broke against the hard earth, it _exploded,_ green light washing over all of them and burning, burning, _burning…_

And the other gem, one much like it, kept in Noah's pocket, but a dark purple, flared up in response, wrapping all of them in deep violet, protecting them, changing them.

And they woke up. Grey-skinned and gold-eyed, they woke up, one by one – Adam, Noah's eldest son, then Road, then Tyki and Sheryll, and Wisely and Fiidora and Maashiima, and Toraido and Skinn and Jasdevi, and then Lulu and Maitora. Then, finally, little Neah blinked open golden eyes, dazed and confused and hurt.

Noah did not wake up.

But as for the rest?

The purple gem had dissolved into them.

And the green lay in scattered pieces, all around the Earth.

And they hated it.

* * *

**Present Day**

"Thor!" Fury roared the instant they were in the debriefing room. "What the hell are the Infinity Stones?"

The Avengers had just returned from a battle with the Enchantress, who had, during the fight, jeered that 'there was no way to protect a realm containing such stones of power as the Infinity Stones'.

And Fury really, really wanted to know why he hadn't heard of them sooner.

"I know little," Thor admitted, looking shamed. "These Infinity Stones… they are stones of great power, of which there are six. You know of one of them: the Tesseract."

"You mean there are _more of them?" _Clint demanded, mildly horrified. Tony couldn't blame him, considering the experience the man had had with it.

"Yes," Thor confirmed gravely. "The Tesseract, the Space Stone, is but one of the set, and perhaps one of the least volatile."

"And you didn't feel the need to mention this sooner?" Fury asked dangerously, vein practically popping out of his forehead. "Are there any _more _on Earth?"

"I know not," Thor admitted.

"With the Tesseract gone," Loki interrupted, drawing Fury's attention, "there are two more. The stones of Mind and Soul both fell to Midgard long ago."

Thor's eyes widened, apparently catching something that escaped the rest of them. "But the Mind and Soul stones-"

"Yes. Their rivalry could destroy Midgard," Loki agreed.

"What the hell is this?" Fury demanded, trying not to outright explode. If you asked Tony, he would say he was failing. "No, don't answer that. Loki, how do we find them?"

"To get them under control?" Loki raised one eyebrow, something like amusement flickering through his eyes, but answered anyway. "I can, with effort, track the magical signatures of both stones. However, if they have shattered – and with the Soul Stone, that is highly likely – then I cannot track all of them, and we will instead have to, ah, ask around, if you will. It is likely that all pieces that may exist have manifested in the same, or a similar, manner."

"Do it," Fury ordered him.

"Which one?" Loki asked, an almost bored drawl to his voice, though he was smirking.

"Whichever one of them is most fucking dangerous!" Fury snapped at him.

Loki raised an eyebrow again. Clint swore that he was enjoying this way too much. "Dangerous? Danger takes many forms, Director, you know that. The Mind Stone is the more destructively inclined, but the Soul Stone may well be the most fearsome of all the stones."

"Why is that?" Natasha asked, voice sharp and eyes intent.

Loki leaned back slightly, a slightly contemplative expression on his face as he pondered how to explain. "The Soul Stone is very, ah, willful, shall we say. When in pieces – and it is often in pieces – it tends to bond with humans. It is from there that it is frightening."

"Explain," Fury ordered curtly.

Loki chuckled quietly. "What can I say? The Soul Stone is demanding. It often bonds with a goal in mind, and from the moment of the bond, the human is completely subject to that goal. They cannot waver. They cannot pause. The goal will be achieved – often at the cost of the human."

"Why aren't you certain it's in pieces if it's been broken already?" Steve wanted to know.

Loki waved a hand dismissively. "The Infinity Stones can be reformed; all that must be done is to find the largest piece. It's a rather simple matter, actually." Then, expectant, "Director? The stones?"

Fury let out a long, irritated breath, paused in thought, and then, finally, decided, "Search for the Mind Stone. Sounds to me like anyone bonded to the Soul Stone is lost already."

Loki chuckled again, too light for the matter at hand. "Lost? Oh, I never said that the Soul Stone wasn't considerate of its hosts. Simply harsh."

"Just search for the damned Mind Stone!" Fury snarled at him, frustrated.

Loki smirked. "Very well."

And he closed his eyes, stretching his senses out for the signature of the stone he'd felt only once before, but remembered so well.

* * *

**Eh heh heh... So the premise is a little out there. Still, you got this far, so I hope you like it. *smiles hopefully* Please review!**


	2. Unnatural Manifestation

**A/N: Yay! Stuff actually happens in this chapter! *dance* Well, stuff happened last chapter too, but come on, half of it was in the past. ;P Well, I hope you like this. (feeling pressure because there aren't any other DGM/Avengers... Shouldn't that mean there's _no _pressure?!)**

**Title: Fear of Infinity**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Loki mentions two more Infinity Stones, aside from the Tesseract, that fell to Earth thousands of years before, the Avengers are thrown into a centuries-old war between Dark Matter and Innocence - also known as the stones of Mind and Soul.**

**Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.**

* * *

It took two days of searching to find what they were looking for, and Tony could honestly, sincerely say that he really, really wished they hadn't.

They were in a small town in Europe that Loki had brought them too, claiming to sense a faint signature. So they'd gone, and they'd followed Loki through the streets.

"So…" Tony drew out the word as he cast his gaze around. "What are we even looking for?"

At that moment, Loki turned his head sharply, but all it landed on was a human. Seconds later, the man turned his head to look at the woman beside him, and a grin, wide and unnatural, stretched across his face, and the skin of his forehead split down the middle, letting… something… burst out into the open. That brought them to where they were now.

A giant, balloon-like thing, eerie in a way that Tony couldn't quite put words to and several times their size, floated over their heads, with a mask as a face and cannon-like appendages spiked all over its body, radiating… something. Tony wasn't quite sure.

"That is… an interesting manifestation," Loki mumbled, looking ill. What was he seeing that they weren't? Or feeling?

"Loki." Thor was frowning, too, though he didn't look ill. "It feels… wrong."

"It _is _wrong," Loki muttered.

"What is it?" Steve asked, shifting into a more guarded stance, eying the thing warily.

"I do not know," Loki admitted. "If I did not know better, I would say that the soul of a Midgardian had been implanted into the body, but… It is improbable. Necromancy is a difficult art, one that does not manifest naturally, and has been banned for centuries, regardless."

"The hell?" Clint muttered, an arrow aimed at the creature. After a moment, he let fly.

The creature was unaffected. It proved this by taking aim at Clint and firing a barrage of bullets, making him curse as he hastily dropped from his former perch to the ground.

"Nothing your weapons do can affect it," Loki informed him, almost haughtily. "Creations of the Mind Stone can only be affected by those of the other Infinity Stones, of which…" He held out his hand toward the creature and clenched his fist. A green glow seemed to spike from it, hitting the creature and making it freeze in the middle of taking aim again, this time at Steve. "The Soul Stone is most effective."

The creature imploded, making the other Avengers duck for cover.

"Of course, a simulation of the stone's signature does just as well," Loki finished, looking self-satisfied.

"Are you finished showing off yet, Reindeer Games?" Tony asked, warily poking out from behind a building.

Loki nodded.

"Right." Tony moved out from behind the building, which now had chunks of creature in it. "Now what?"

"We wait for Fury to ask around," Loki replied lightly.

And they did. Or rather, they passed it on the Fury and he made Natasha go on a mission, which wasn't obvious at all, why aren't you admitting what your mission is, Romanoff?

Tony would make her explain one of her missions someday. He _would._

But for now, Natasha had a mission. No matter what it was, no matter how strange or supernatural, someone, somewhere, will have heard of it, and from there? Well, all roads lead to Rome.

And that was why, two weeks later, Natasha was sitting in a bar, pretending to be tipsy and talkative.

"I hear that there are strange things happening around here," she commented idly, leaning forward to look at the man across from her, whispering almost secretively.

The man's eyes widened and he stiffened.

That would be consistent with every other response she'd gotten, discounting those who didn't react with anything but confusion.

Whatever was going on here, people were _terrified _of it. Most things, even scary things, some people would talk about, even if only in whispers.

Not this.

"There's nothing," the man insisted, eyes darting about as if to look for a threat. "Nothing at all, miss, you've heard wrong."

"Oh." She sighed, leaning back, as though disappointed. Which she was. "I wish I knew what to do…"

No response.

Not even to help.

Complete and utter fear.

She stood, leaving her drink behind as she left yet another useless bar, not a bit wiser than when she'd entered. The same old story with the same old tone.

That was when another man, one who'd been eying her speculatively, came out behind her. She sighed and rolled her eyes, a rare show of emotion. She didn't really want to deal with this right now.

She turned around to give the man a piece of her mind and then stiffened.

He was grinning at her. Wide, manic, almost inhuman.

A moment later, the skin down his forehead split, and a creature, the same one from before, burst out of his forehead. Her eyes widened, if only slightly, and she took a step back.

It, though – it seemed to grin at her, knowing she was alone, knowing that, without Loki, there was nothing she could do.

It was the Hulk all over again.

The thing slowly, but not slowly enough, twisted its monstrous limbs to aim at her, and though she knew it would do her no good, she drew her gun and aimed, only firing once before –

"Lau Jimin! Activate!"

A monkey – a giant, viciously aggressive monkey, but still a monkey – flew over her head and attacked the akuma, pummeling it with angry fists bubbling with energy.

Natasha blinked.

There weren't a lot of things that surprised her, not anymore. But when the akuma exploded under the force of the monkey's blows…

"A strange sight, isn't it?"

She looked over her shoulder to see a blonde woman with violet eyes striding toward her casually. The woman nodded to the monkey.

"That's enough, Lau."

The monkey looked at her for a moment, then chattered and shrank down until it was of a more average size – Natasha would almost go so far as to call it cute – and then scurried over and up the woman's side, settling on her shoulder.

"What _was _that?" Natasha asked, slipping a little wonder into her voice as she made the gun vanish and silently activated the comm unit, straight to Nick Fury.

"An akuma. Level one," the woman answered, tipping her head toward Natasha in a silent nod of acknowledgement. "I am General Cloud Nyne, of the Black Order. We fight these creatures."

_"The Black Order?" _Fury's voice was a mixture of disbelief and frustration. Natasha silently agreed; it wasn't unheard of for something to occasionally slip under Fury's nose, but an entire organization? That _was_. _"What the fuck is the Black Order?"_

"The… Black Order?" Natasha asked, as though tasting the words on her tongue.

Nyne gave her an appraising look, and then nodded. "Yes. It's an underground organization dedicated to fighting akuma, and, more recently, the Noah who lead them. As I say, though, it's deep underground."

_"Natasha." _Fury's voice was certain, tense, as he made the split decision that was clearly required. _"Infiltrate the Black Order. Now."_

_Yes, sir, _Natasha replied back silently, and then, to Nyne, asked, "Is there… anything I can do to help?"

Nyne's eyebrows shot up, and she looked Natasha up and down again. "I suppose we're always short on finders. But I warn you, once you sign up, there's no turning back. You can't contact your family, or your friends."

That was curious. "Why not?"

Nyne's expression turned grim. "Akuma are made when the Millenium Earl offers a human the chance to bring back the soul of a loved one, and they accept. There's a high turnover rate at the Black Order, and if they find out that you've died, you could end up an akuma." Her nose wrinkled. "And no one wants that."

Akumas suddenly became a lot more frightening. Natasha could see what Loki meant when he called the Tesseract 'the tamest of the Infinity Stones'.

That was also a frightening thought.

"I can do that," Natasha replied softly, as though regretful. A lie, of course, but the comm unit they used for her undercover missions was virtually undetectable.

_"Go," _Fury hissed.

"Good." A smile, colder than Natasha would have expected, curled Nyne's mouth. "If you have nothing more to do, then let's go."

Natasha nodded once, almost hesitantly, and stood, following after the other woman within moments.

* * *

**Alright. So that's... that. Um. Well, I have nothing to say, so... please review!**


	3. Agent Finder

**A/N: I am SO CLOSE. I want to reach ten thousand views (for all my stories put together) this month, which requires about three hundred more views today. Please?**

**Title: Fear of Infinity**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Loki mentions two more Infinity Stones, aside from the Tesseract, that fell to Earth thousands of years before, the Avengers are thrown into a centuries-old war between Dark Matter and Innocence - also known as the stones of Mind and Soul.**

**Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.**

* * *

Natasha looked up at the castle on the towering cliff above them, then turned and gave Nyne a flat look.

She chuckled. "Oh, don't worry, we don't have to _climb _it." Then, lower and amused, "Someone ought to have told Walker that." Back to Natasha, she continued, "There's an elevator over there." She indicated an area off to the side, and Natasha nodded, making a mental note of its location before following the general to it and taking it up.

Once they were inside, Nyne called over a man in a tan cloak and said carelessly, "Someone needs to initiate this woman, make sure it happens."

And she left. Just like that, not even glancing back.

Well, then.

The man gave Natasha a hopelessly confused look, which she replied to with an expectant one. The man sighed, resigned. "I guess I'll initiate you, then."

"Initiate?" Natasha asked, gaze intent.

The man waved his hand a little, vague and airy. "Show you around, tell you what to expect and who to avoid."

She frowned. "There are people you should avoid around here?"

The man shivered. "Oh, yeah. The exorcists, for one."

"Why?" Natasha hadn't needed to be so unsubtle in her prodding for information in a while.

"They're _crazy,_" the man said emphatically, waving his hands emphatically, beginning to take her along the hallway. "Like, really crazy. But they're also the only ones who can fight akuma. That's why we're here, to support them." He paused. "Uh, how much did General Nyne tell you?"

"Not much," Natasha admitted, looking at him.

"Right. Well, finders – that's us in the tan cloaks – are mostly here to support the exorcists, who do the actual fighting." He grimaced. "As to what to expect? Death. Swift, painful death."

Well. That wasn't too different from normal, really. "Just like that?" she asked, morbidly curious.

"Yeah. There's a reason exorcists are the only ones who fight – only their Innocence can actually affect akuma, and anything else that gets in their way dies and dies fast. That's usually us. You get one chance; one shot and you're dead."

Natasha was not becoming fond of this mission.

There were fourteen exorcists, six of which had a general-level Innocence, of which one had spent quite some time pretending to be dead and another contained one of the enemy, with whom they'd made temporary peace. Because apparently that happened here.

Natasha really, really hated this mission. She had very few limits on her tolerance for crazy, thanks to the Avengers (mainly Tony), and this was breaking all of them.

Every night for two weeks, Natasha had reported her findings to Fury, including the three missions she'd been on already. However, this time was the night that she had something of true worth.

"They're going to attack Japan," she said, straight to the point, the moment she activated the comm. unit.

She could practically hear Fury's blink, followed by a dangerous-sounding growl. _"Romanoff. Explain."_

She had to admit that there was a good reason for Fury's confusion. Japan had been lost for over fifty years – no one went in, and no one came out. There were no communications of any sort, either. It was completely cut off.

"Apparently, Japan was lost to the akuma fifty years ago," she explained, leaning back to watch the door warily. "It's become a center for the akuma forces and the Noah, with a population that's ninety percent akuma. Edo, by their word, is now the Noahs' home base. In a month, they're going to attack."

_"Fine." _She could practically hear Fury mulling it over, thinking hard, and fought not to chuckle. She knew how Fury hated making split second decisions, but recently he hadn't had much choice. She didn't envy him in the slightest; she may have to go in and get the information, but Fury? Fury had to _act _on it. She'd take the missions any day… well, except maybe this one. _"Romanoff."_

"Yes?" That was his 'hard-decision' voice.

_"Go find the damn Head – Komui, you said. You're representing SHIELD, Romanoff, make it good." _His voice was grim, but decisive. _"We're going to offer an alliance."_

Natasha's eyes narrowed and she nodded, once. "Understood."

Being Natasha, it didn't take her very long to locate the chief's office, and soon, she was standing in front of his sleeping body, eying him doubtfully.

Finally, she stepped forward and shook his shoulder, hard.

"Chief," she said crisply.

Komui snored. Natasha twitched.

"Chief!" she repeated, louder.

Snore.

The door clicked open and as she looked over her shoulder, a thinly veiled murderous expression on her face, a man holding a towering stack of paperwork stepped in, balancing it easily.

"Chief!" he said loudly. Peeking out from behind his burden, he caught sight of her expression and sighed, looking exasperated. "Oh. He's asleep, isn't he?"

She nodded. Once. Shortly.

"Chief!" the man bellowed, slamming his papers on Komui's desk as Natasha took a few steps back. No response. The man sighed, looking close to rolling his eyes, then leaned in close to Komui and whispered conspiratorially, "I hear Lenalee's getting married."

Natasha did not understand. It was a feeling that thus far seemed to be a growing trend around this place.

She understood less when Komui sat up straight, eyes wide and horrified. "Lenalee, _why?"_

The man spared a few moments to calm Komui, with repeated assurances that 'Lenalee' wasn't actually getting married, and then glanced at Natasha with a weary look.

"Look, I have to get back to work. Can you make sure this idiot actually signs these?"

"Reever, you slave driver," Komui whimpered, staring at the large stack of paperwork.

Natasha nodded curtly.

Reever sighed in relief and then left, door shutting behind him. Natasha, with as much dignity as she could muster, redirected her attention to Komui.

"Chief Komui," she said coolly, striding forward and reaching into her pocket. She pulled out an identification badge and held it out. "I'm Agent Romanoff; I'm here on behalf of SHIELD. We'd like to make you an offer."

* * *

**Do you know how hard it is to edit while talking to someone? Really freaking hard. Especially when they're trying to teach you something. (By this, I mean my friend was explaining the backstory, and proceeding story, of the Portal games to me while I was editing. I think that Portal's logic is crap, by the way. Its video game shows.) Please review!**


	4. Move Along Now

**A/N: Favorite story, this is totally my favorite story at the moment. So fun. And for once I know precisely what's going to happen, when. (this is actually kind of unusual for me...) So. Updates. Sadly, I fell exactly 36 views short of 10,000 last month, but it's close enough that I'm pretty pleased anyway. I'll just have to try again this month! *wicked grin***

**Oh, and belated Happy New Year! Yay, 2014!**

**Title: Fear of Infinity**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Loki mentions two more Infinity Stones, aside from the Tesseract, that fell to Earth thousands of years before, the Avengers are thrown into a centuries-old war between Dark Matter and Innocence - also known as the stones of Mind and Soul.**

**Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.**

* * *

Komui blinked at her, once, and then straightened up suddenly, instantly shedding all signs of indignity like a snake's old skin. "SHIELD? I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with that name. Does it stand for something?"

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." To his befuddled look, she conceded, "We're working on it." Serious again, she went on, "SHIELD tracks superhumans and, more importantly, superhuman threats, and intervenes when it deems it necessary."

Komui raised an eyebrow, settling forward slightly. "Why only intervene now? What changed?"

Natasha twitched lightly. That was a very good question. Why hadn't they found out before? But she didn't answer, instead asking, "Are you familiar with the Avengers?"

His eyes narrowed in thought for a moment, allowing himself to be redirected, and then he nodded. Still, he frowned. "I see. That was SHIELD's work?" His frown deepened slightly, gaining an edge of consideration. "What kind of offer are you making?"

"We're offering an alliance," Natasha replied, gaze unwavering.

Komui looked almost weary. "Unless you have a few Accommodators hidden away, I'm not sure there's much even the Avengers can do."

"Actually, with my magic, I can bind a shard of the stone to anything I wish."

Komui let out a yelp and whipped around, staring at Loki, who was smirking at him from where he'd appeared behind the chief.

_"The fuck – is Loki there?" _Fury demanded in Natasha's ear. _"Dammit, Romanoff, remind him that he's not allowed to fucking do that!"_

"Fury wishes me to remind you that you're not meant to teleport spontaneously," Natasha informed Loki monotonously as Komui recovered himself.

Loki smirked. "Ah, but it is so _fun. _You mortals startle so easily."

Komui shook his head, coming back to himself, and looked at Loki seriously. "I'm not so certain that's a good idea. We've tried to force bonds with Innocence before… it's never ended well."

"You misunderstand," Loki replied, leaning back casually, ignoring the stray papers laying about his feet. "I would not be forcing a _bond, _precisely. I would bind the… Innocence, you say? To a weapon, thus making the weapon effective against… _akuma." _The word was said with distaste palpable in the syllables. "The connection with the weapon's user would be limited, at best. I do not believe that the Innocence could cause the user to Fall."

Natasha didn't understand. For this, she glowered at Loki, who smirked back, knowing full well why she was annoyed.

"But are you _certain?" _Komui pressed, looking uneasy.

After a moment of thought, Loki looked back to him and nodded.

Komui sighed, and leaned back. "Very well. In that case… I accept your offer."

After that, things were frantic. The Avengers finally called in their favor, and the Fantastic Four agreed to cover for them while they were gone. The Avengers left within a few days to go to the Black Order, along with Coulson, who would not be receiving an Innocence, but rather acting as a finder.

Loki had been given six Innocences to use, and that was what brought them there, in Komui's office on the day of their arrival.

"I will bind one of these to each of you," he explained, expression serious. "Captain, your shield, if you will."

Reluctantly, Steve handed over the vibranium disk, and Loki placed the strange, glowing Innocence on top of it. From there, Loki held his hand over both of them and began to mutter under his breath. Slowly, very slowly, the Innocence melted into the shield, which looked little different for the change. Loki nodded once and passed the shield back to Steve, who ran his fingers over the edge of it, frowning slightly, feeling _something _off about it now.

"Activate it," Komui said to him, leaning over his shoulder in interest.

Steve gave him a confused look. "Activate? It's a shield."

Komui gave him a soft laugh. "Yes, but it's also an Innocence now, Captain." Then, thoughtful, "But, of course, you wouldn't know how to activate it, would you…"

"Why don't you ask one of the exorcists to come?" Natasha suggested quietly. "They seem to be the only ones capable of it."

Komui smiled and nodded at her. "Of course! I'll send for Lavi, he'd like to see this anyway. Historical moment and all that."

"Why would Lavi be interested in a historical moment?" Clint demanded, slightly incredulous.

"He's a Bookman," Natasha explained for Komui, looking over as the man sent off a poor, unsuspecting finder who had been passing by. "It's his job to record as much history as he can, particularly of the hidden variety."

"Is this a common profession for your people?" Thor questioned, looking confused. "In Asgard, we have many scribes, but they do not do much but write. Never do they participate in battle."

"There is only one Bookman clan," Komui refuted, looking at Thor with a smile. "We're lucky to have them with us, quite honestly. Lavi did mention that he's never been a participant of a war before, simply a bystander."

At that moment, the door opened, admitting a redheaded teenager, maybe eighteen or nineteen. He wore a green bandana around his head and an orange scarf around his neck, while a black eye patch sat over his right eye. His left eye, left exposed, was a bright, emerald green.

"Hey, Komui," he called out as he entered, closing the door behind him to lean on it casually. "Whatcha need?"

At that moment, his eye landed on the Avengers, and Natasha was sure she wasn't the only one to see it suddenly go cold and calculating, examining them with all the interest of a scientist leaning over a microscope, before it was replaced by a bright grin that didn't fool any of them. "Hey, the Avengers! Never thought I'd see you here. What's up?"

That was not an average response. That seemed to be a recurring trend, here.

Komui smiled at Lavi in greeting. "Ah, Lavi! Just the man I was hoping to see." Ignoring Lavi as the boy complained that Komui had been the one who _sent _for him, he continued, "The Avengers seem to be having some trouble activating their Innocence. I expect you can help?" He sent Lavi a winning smile, ignoring the near-sputtering.

"Since when are the Avengers Accommodators?"

Seeing as Komui didn't seem inclined to explain, Steve, smiling apologetically, took it upon himself to do so, trying to ignore the way Lavi's gaze sharpened with interest, intent on Steve in way Steve wasn't quite used to, even from Tony or Bruce.

Steve had a feeling that this moment was being noted even as he spoke, pages of history yet to be written flitting across the gaze of the boy before him, and when he finished, he was just the smallest bit relieved.

He wondered if all exorcists were like that, unnerving and intent and just that little bit _not normal._

He suspected that they were.

* * *

**I want to know the moment I'm stretching this too far, alright? Alright. So, for now, I'll assume all is well, thanks for reading, and please review!**


	5. Innocence, Activate

**A/N: And yet another update for this one. I think I'm sensing a trend here. Are you sensing a trend here? I'm sensing a trend here. (Damn, it's too early to be typing, look at that...)**

**Title: Fear of Infinity**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Loki mentions two more Infinity Stones, aside from the Tesseract, that fell to Earth thousands of years before, the Avengers are thrown into a centuries-old war between Dark Matter and Innocence - also known as the stones of Mind and Soul.**

**Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.**

* * *

"Right." Lavi settled back, sitting across from Steve comfortably. "You know what your Innocence is already, right?"

Steve nodded, setting his shield between them. Lavi shook his head, not watching as Loki reached his hand out for Natasha's gun, which she gave only reluctantly.

"No, no. Hold it. Like you normally do." Concentration and thought in his voice.

Looking at Lavi with a little bit of confusion, Steve picked it up and placed it on his arm, the way it was meant to go. He glanced back to Lavi, who was studying him intently.

"What now?" Steve asked, shifting a little.

Lavi 'hm'ed. "When you activate your Innocence… it's a feeling." He grinned. "Pretty cool, too. Like power. For an equipment type, it's pretty strong, though it's stronger for parasitic types." He tilted his head slightly, studying Steve again. "Tell me, Cap, do you remember what it felt like to get the serum? How it felt right after?"

Loki placed another Innocence onto Clint's bow as Steve nodded once, gaze growing slightly distant as he recalled the feeling. Lavi grinned, satisfied.

"Great. Well, the difference between the power of Innocence and your power now _should _be about the same as the difference between your old body and your new one. Remember the feeling of power and feel it now."

Steve's jaw clenched slightly, eyes falling shut, and his fists flexed, tuning out Tony's protests as Loki made him lay down so that the Innocence could sit neatly on his arc reactor.

"Command your Innocence to activate."

Steve opened his eyes, and looked at Lavi, and then his hand clenched on the rim of his shield. "Innocence, activate!" he said sharply, voice snapping out like a whip, firm and decisive.

And the shield flashed, green light rippling out from where his hand held it, and within moments, the entire rim of the shield glowed a toxic lime. Steve took in a sharp breath as power, rough and electric, shot up his arm and settled deep in his chest, humming every time he took a breath.

Lavi grinned. "Great!" He clapped Steve on the shoulder, chuckling. "That's the feeling of Innocence. Feels good, huh?"

Steve nodded, a little breathless, eyes wandering to Loki as he smirked at him, one hand resting over Thor's hammer as he finished melting the Innocence into it.

"It ruins the red-white-and-blue thing he had going on!" Tony complained, reaching over to poke at the shield. Natasha, without taking her eyes off of Bruce leaning away from Loki, punched him in the shoulder. He yelped. "Hey!"

"Since it's not a true bond, that's probably all it can do," continued Lavi, green eye amused even as he ignored the side scuffle. Bruce gave in and closed his eyes, letting Loki put the Innocence in his hands to meld it with his alter ego.

"All it can do?" questioned Steve, looking at him. "Can it usually do more?"

Lavi nodded, leaning back and laughing a little. _"Oh, _yeah. I can count on one hand the number of Innocences that actually maintain their original forms. Mine, for one."

"What is yours, anyway?" Steve asked.

"It's a hammer," Lavi said offhandedly, reaching down and pulling the small implement from his belt, waving it around a little.

"It's tiny," Thor said disapprovingly. "It appears unworthy of use in battle."

Lavi looked over at him and raised his eyebrow in challenge. "I bet mine's bigger than yours is, thunder pants."

Thor growled at the challenge and held out his hand, silently commanding Mjolnir to come from where it sat a little way away. The hammer obeyed, landing in his hand. It was bigger than Lavi's.

Or it was.

"Big hammer, little hammer," Lavi said confidently. "Grow, grow, grow!"

With each word, the hammer grew a little larger. When he was finished, it was indeed bigger than Mjolnir. A lot bigger. Thor's eyes widened slightly as Lavi rested his now-grown hammer on his shoulder, smirking.

"It grows?" He pouted slightly. "Mjolnir does not grow." He stared broodingly at his hammer.

"It grows a lot bigger than this, thunder pants," Lavi told him, snickering. "Controls elements, too, but it's not very good at it."

A moment later, he yelped and dropped his hammer, shaking off his slightly burned hand. "Hey! _Hammer!"_

Bruce stared warily at the hammer. "Did it just… _burn _you? Independently?"

"Yeah, it does that," Lavi grumbled, reaching for his hammer and silently commanding it to shrink back down so he could put it away.

"Will ours do this?" Bruce asked Loki.

Loki looked at him, considering. "I do not believe that yours will be any more independent than normal," he said finally. "The others, however…"

"What?" Steve said, slightly horrified.

"Hey!" Tony protested, hand darting up to cover his arc reactor. "You did _not _mention this before, Reindeer Games!"

"Hey, now, look at that!" Lavi snatched Tony by the arm and pulled the man to face him. "Why don't you go next!" He leaned down to the arc reactor, looking at it closely. "Hey, do you consider this a part of you?"

Tony gave him an incredulous look. "It extends three inches into my chest!"

"Yes, then," Lavi concluded, leaning back to give him a grin. "You're probably a parasitic type user, then."

"A parasitic type?" Tony inquired, looking down at his arc reactor. "That means… what?"

Lavi's grin broadened and he chuckled. "Means the feeling'll be a lot more intense for you. You also might be a lot stronger, but it's not certain. Anyway, the power should extend to whatever the arc reactor powers. That's why you put it there, right?" He directed the last question to Loki, who nodded curtly.

"Right," Lavi said decisively, considering again. "Well, you still have to keep the feeling of activation in mind, but it'll be different for you. Allen'd probably be a bigger help here, but I can do fine."

"So what does it feel like?" Tony pressed, looking like a cross between fascinated and wary.

Lavi didn't answer for a long moment. Then, slow and careful, "From what Allen tells me, it's a rush of pure power, so strong it's almost painful, but addicting, too. Even now, it takes him a moment or two to get used to. That should be what it feels like for you. Can you picture it?"

Tony smirked at him. "Eye patch, if there's one thing I'm good at – and there's a lot more than that, believe me – it's imagining. Yeah, I can picture it."

Lavi grinned at him approvingly. "I like you! Picture it, then tell your Innocence to activate, like Cap did."

Tony shut his eyes, took in a sharp breath, and then said, calmer than any of them had expected, "Innocence, activate."

The arc reactor flickered, once, twice, and then the blue light flared green. Tony gasped slightly, a tremor ripping through him, but then he grinned, almost feral, and opened his eyes. "Hell, _yes," _he managed.

Lavi laughed. "Feels that good, huh? Try something else now. Summon your armor."

Tony, still grinning, shut his eyes and called the Mark XLII to him. The armor flew toward him, snapping easily onto his body, and when he opened his eyes again, he found the interface flickering green. He grinned again, though this time no one saw past the green-glowing eyes of Iron Man. "I could get used to this."

* * *

**Plausibility, plausibility. Things should pick up after this, by the way. (In interest, not pace. Pace will probably slow down, and this is not a bad thing.) People have started inquiring after Allen, so I'll tell you now that his first appearance is next chapter, which I still have to finish. (Apparently four pre-done chapters don't last very long if you update quickly, who knew?) Please review!**


	6. Not Quite Right

**A/N: Right! So. This chapter. Um. Go ahead and read!**

**Title: Fear of Infinity**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Loki mentions two more Infinity Stones, aside from the Tesseract, that fell to Earth thousands of years before, the Avengers are thrown into a centuries-old war between Dark Matter and Innocence - also known as the stones of Mind and Soul.**

**Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.**

* * *

By the end of the day, all of them had activated their Innocence, though Natasha looked a bit skeptical of hers, glaring suspiciously down the glowing barrel of her gun.

Clint, though, looked pretty pleased with his endless supply of Innocence-fueled arrows as he tested their capabilities by shooting them at the ceiling lights, and Thor looked just as happy with the glowing runes on his hammer (though it sadly still could not grow).

Lavi, though, was becoming impatient, though it only showed to a trained eye like Natasha's. "Hey, Komui, can I go back now? When I left, Link was…" He gestured meaninglessly, but Komui seemed to understand, eyes widening comically.

"Oh. Oh! I see. Go on, then."

Lavi grinned, turning and waving at the Avengers. "Come if you like. I'm sure Agent Finder over there remembers her way around, though."

Natasha glowered at him, but Steve broke in just then.

"No, we'll go with you," he assured the boy. "I mean, we need to know who we'll be working with, right? And Natasha mentioned that the finders don't work with the exorcists often."

Lavi shrugged, starting to walk. "Yeah, pretty much. It's kind of complicated. See, exorcists usually work with finders, but finders don't usually work with exorcists. Follow me?"

Steve's slightly blank expression said that he didn't.

"Finders far outnumber exorcists," Natasha explained, walking briskly after Lavi. "So while most finders never see an exorcist, all exorcists work with finders for every mission, even if not very closely."

"How many of these exorcists are in this place?" Thor wanted to know, looking at Lavi.

"Counting you? Twenty," Lavi answered, not even needing to think about it.

Steve was astounded. "That few?"

Lavi gave him a little half-grin and nodded. "Being able to bond with Innocence is a rare ability; it's pretty picky, honestly." After a moment, he added, a hint of brooding to his voice, "And I've never heard of anyone _forcing _it to obey before."

Loki smirked at him.

Tony poked at his arc reactor, which was back to its normal soft blue, suspiciously. "I don't think a semi-sentient substance can really afford to be picky. Can it afford to be picky? No. So why is it picky?"

Lavi shrugged, grinning again with slight amusement. "Who knows?"

"The Soul Stone is very discerning," Loki explained loftily, eyes growing thoughtful. "It is very… _judicious, _in its selection. I believe all of those it chooses are perhaps those who are at their strongest when the situation is… dire."

Lavi considered. "Sounds about right," he admitted.

Clint turned his head and stared at him. "Strongest when the situation is _dire?"_ he repeated incredulously. "This sounds _right?"_

Lavi shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much."

He sped up slightly, and within moments, they had arrived at the cafeteria. Once he – and, by extension, the Avengers – had collected his meal, Lavi headed straight past the many, many people in tan cloaks, instead going for a mostly empty table with only a man with white hair, who sat half-hunched as another man with blond hair tied back in a braid scowled at him, looking as though he were gearing up for another in a long line of scoldings. Tony knew the look well.

Lavi strode right up to the table and dropped down beside the white-haired man. "Hey, beansprout," he said cheerfully.

The man – or boy, they could see as he turned toward them – looked enormously relieved. "Hi, Lavi." Silver eyes landed on the group who had decided to settle at the other end of the table turned slightly apprehensive. "Why are the Avengers here? I thought the Order was keeping a low profile."

"Hey! We can be low profile!" Tony objected, looking put out.

Natasha looked at him and gave him a flat look. "Stark, you fight in a large, shiny metal suit. And let's not forget Hulk's propensity for mass destruction."

"So?"

Clint snickered.

Thor, settling at the very end, grinned at the boy. "Hello, my friend! Might I ask your name?"

The boy blinked once, slightly surprised, and then smiled at Thor and held out a hand. "Allen Walker."

Thor took it and shook it enthusiastically, making Allen wince slightly.

"The Avengers are here to help out some," Lavi explained, casual as anything. "Loki," he nodded to Loki, who was examining Allen with unaccounted-for interest, "did something to their weapons."

Allen blinked. "He forced a bond?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"No," Loki explained patiently, still looking at Allen intently. "I molded the Innocence to their weapons." After a brief moment, he continued, "I did not believe that it was possible for the Soul and Mind stones to coexist in the same body."

Allen blinked in confusion and gave Lavi a questioning look. Link interrupted, looking grumpy about the whole interruption.

"I believe he is referring to your Innocence and the Fourteenth, Walker."

Allen blinked again, realization dawning over him, and he smiled, a little sheepishly. "I guess it is a little strange." He tilted his head slightly. "How did you know?"

"I can sense their magic in you," Loki explained carelessly, turning back to his meal.

And that, apparently, was that.

Moments later, though, the door slammed open, drawing about half of all eyes to it as a long-haired, scowling boy entered, letting the door swing shut behind him. Steve's eyes widened in recognition.

"Yuu!" he exclaimed, surprised.

Kanda froze, for the briefest of moments. A second later, his sword was drawn, pressed to Steve's throat.

"Don't call me that!" he snarled, navy locked with sky and not a hint of recognition in his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"

Thor half-rose from his seat, hand going straight for Mjolnir even as Bruce closed his eyes, counting his breaths as his monitor began to beep. "You dare-"

"No, it's alright," Steve interrupted hastily, a flush of embarrassment lighting up his cheeks. Carefully, he leaned away from the razor-sharp blade. "Sorry, you just… remind me of someone I knew."

Kanda glared at him suspiciously for a moment longer, but then he 'che'ed, turned, and swept toward Jerry's window without so much as a backwards glance.

Relaxing back into his seat, Steve sighed, gloom hanging over him like a drape.

"What was that?" Natasha asked, sharp eyes on Steve.

Steve shrugged, a rueful smile tugging at his mouth. "Sorry. He looked like someone I used to know; I guess he's his grandson." He frowned. "It's just… he looks _just _like him."

Lavi froze, just for a moment, and then asked, carefully, "Who?"

"Yuu Kanda," Steve answered, fingers drumming on the table. "Someone I worked with, back in the war." He chuckled. "Never thought he'd settle down."

Allen's eyes widened slightly and darted to Lavi's. Lavi nodded slightly in agreement and put a finger to his lips in a rare moment of discretion.

Allen caught the message and gave an easy, disarming smile and a shrug without missing a beat. "Well, I guess everyone settles down eventually."

Natasha's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but only Clint caught it. To his questioning look, Natasha just shook her head slightly.

But it was clear that there was more to Yuu than met the eye.

After that, both groups lapsed into their own conversations. Half-listening as Lavi and Allen talked a seat over, Natasha let her gaze drift to Tony as he clapped his hands and spoke.

"So! Exorcists. Thoughts, anyone?"

"Creepy as fuck," griped Clint. "Have you seen their _eyes?"_

"What about them?" Bruce frowned.

Clint jerked a thumb at Loki. "They're like _his _were before. Crazy as a damn bag of cats."

Loki gave him a faintly offended look. Thor bristled. The others just accepted this; Clint's eyes missed nothing. Finally, though, Thor admitted, grudgingly,

"Aye. They do seem most unusual."

"You didn't think that the Stone would bond with just anyone, did you?" Loki added with a slight smirk. Clint shuddered.

"I was trying to _forget _that conversation, thanks."

Loki's smirk widened. "I know."

Clint sent him a scowl, but Bruce interceded.

"The Innocence feels odd," he announced, breaking it up. He looked down and frowned, pressing a hand over his stomach, then looked back to his food and frowned again. "I think I'll need more than that."

Lavi took that moment to look over and grin. "Parasitic type users eat more than most," he threw out casually, smirking. "That means you and Stark." He nodded to the heretofore ignored plates beside Allen. "That's how much Allen eats." He smirked at them and their slightly stunned expressions. "Have fun."

Both Bruce and Tony went back several times before an entirely too delighted Jerry suggested that he take his own guess at their portions.

When they got what he gave them, they were certain it would be too much.

It wasn't.

Thor pouted.

* * *

**Heh, poor Thor, eating less than a parasitic type. So things've started out and please review!**


	7. Check Out

**A/N: Alright! Continuing on now after having revamped the storyline and what, precisely, is going on here. Some events from the past have been moved into the future and it's all much better now. Makes a lot more sense. (I'm pleased with myself, can you tell? On the other hand, I'm also kind of annoyed because _why aren't I capable of deciding on a storyline _before _I start writing? _Honestly...) But. Please read!**

**Title: Fear of Infinity**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Loki mentions two more Infinity Stones, aside from the Tesseract, that fell to Earth thousands of years before, the Avengers are thrown into a centuries-old war between Dark Matter and Innocence - also known as the stones of Mind and Soul.**

**Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.**

* * *

The next morning, Coulson was waiting expectantly outside the hall wehre the Avengers' rooms were, dignified in his tan finder cloak.

Steve, Thor, Bruce, and Natasha were polite enough to comment on this. Loki smirked a smirk that spoke volumes, but said nothing aloud. Tony, on the other hand…

"What is _that?" _he asked, snickering shamelessly.

Clint, not two steps behind the billionare, smirked at Tony. "Oh, you think that's bad, you should have seen the time with the-"

"The Chief requested that you meet him in his office as soon as possible," Coulson interrupted, voice bland. It was only logical; after all, all of the Avengers had now arrived. It had _nothing _to do with the story Clint was about to tell. Nothing.

"Already?" Steve asked, surprised. Beside him, Bruce's expression reflected his own surprise, a silent question in his eyes, and even Tony looked a little startled.

Natasha, however, was not.

"The Order is always in quite the hurry," she explained, already gliding down the hall with a step as smooth as her words. "A perpetual state of urgency, if you will. It shouldn't take long to get used to." Her tone seemed to imply that if one found it at all difficult, they weren't cut out for it at all.

Coulson inclined his head toward Natasha. "Basically," he agreed.

"So you've been with the finders?" Steve asked him. He'd wondered where Coulson had disappeared to when they'd been shown in.

"Yes," Coulson confirmed, turning smoothly on his heel to follow after Natasha, silently prompting them to follow after him. "I've been gathering a little intel of my own; the general consensus seems to be that exorcists are frightening." He paused. "That seems to be the _only _general consensus."

"Not true," Natasha disagreed, recalling her own time as a finder. "They also agree that death is a guaranteed outcome at the Order."

Coulson nodded, conceding to her longer experience in this matter.

"Well, that's not depressing or anything," Tony muttered.

"Your average Midgardian tends to be absurdly fragile," Loki dismissed easily. "I believe that we should have little trouble."

"Aye," Thor agreed with a smile. "After all, we have long experience in battle."

"Speak for yourself," Clint muttered, recalling the hulking thing that was an akuma, and which was actually _bigger _than the Hulk. Not cool. "Some of us are actually, you know, squishy. Not everyone gets superhuman endurance."

Loki inclined his head toward him, conceding the point.

Natasha ended the discussion by pushing her way into Komui's office. The man himself was awake this time; Natasha would guess that this was mostly, if not exclusively, due to the two exorcists sitting in front of his desk already, bored out of their teenaged minds.

"Lavi, Walker," Natasha greeted evenly. "You're going with us, then?"

Allen nodded. "Komui says that it'd be best for you to have a guide or two for your first mission," he explained.

"What's the objective?" Steve asked, blue eyes gone serious.

Komui spoke now, hands clasped behind his back as he stood behind his desk. "Just simple extermination. Trostburg, Germany has been declared an akuma nest, at fifty-three percent akuma. A nearby supporter noticed and alerted us, though most of them are still disguised as humans." He beamed. "It's like the life of an exorcist wrapped up in one small town!"

"Is that what we're doing?" Lavi asked with some surprise, ignoring the last comment. "Damn. That's cruel, Komui." He chuckled.

"What, you think we can't take it?" Tony challenged, one eyebrow cocked.

"It's not that," Lavi dismissed casually, waving a hand aimlessly. "I'm sure you can; you're not superheroes for nothing. It's just mean to throw you in head first, that's all."

"That's why I'm sending Allen with you," Komui said seriously. "You mentioned a phenomenon at Castle Krory concerning his eye, yes?"

Lavi shuddered at the memory. "That's _more _cruel." He shook his head, shaking the memory away, and asked, "So he's our failsafe?"

"Yes," confirmed Komui, smiling. Bruce found this very inappropriate.

"Why?" Bruce asked, inquiring after the apparent cruelty.

Lavi waved a hand again. "If everything goes alright, it won't matter. The point of this, after all, is to get you used to exorcists' normal conditions, and that's not. So it would defeat the purpose."

"This is to be taken as training, then?" Thor inquired, unexpectedly intent. Then again, he _was _a warrior prince, and one of the best of his people.

"No," Allen disagreed, slumping over himself with his arms crossed and a dark look on his face. "Training would be to throw you in the middle of a swarm and not tell you how to even _activate your damn Innocence!" _He scowled darkly and continued to mumble angrily to himself, though now under his breath.

"Is he alright?" Bruce questioned warily.

"Ignore him, that's his Cross face," Lavi told them, completely ignoring the fact that this explained nothing. Then, to Thor, "Yeah, this is basically training." Looking back to Komui, he continued, "That's it? No Innocence?"

"No Innocence," Komui confirmed. "You're just to clear it out."

"Right. Transportation's arranged?" Not waiting for an answer, Lavi hopped up and grabbed Allen's arm, pulling him up. Allen, not paying attention, followed the guiding motion without even pausing in his mumbled rant.

"I made arrangements earlier today," Coulson agreed, ignoring Clint as the other man watched Allen with a strange sort of fascination. "The name of the Order seems to speed things along substantially." Which was strange, because the first round of inquiries seemed to indicate that no one knew of _anything _strange, and the Order was nothing but. Apparently, SHIELD needed better information extraction techniques.

Tony poked Allen. Allen didn't react. "Is he still in there?" he asked with interest.

Lavi paused, listened for a few moments, and then shook his head. "No, he's talking to Neah now, and who _knows _how long that'll take?" He snorted.

"Neah?" Steve questioned, confused.

"The Fourteenth," Natasha elaborated.

Lavi paused and gave her an interested look. "I'd really like to know how you know that," he said conversationally.

"Keep wondering, Bookman Junior."

Lavi pouted and kept walking, one hand around a compliant Allen's wrist. "Aw, c'mon. For _posterity."_

"No one sees Bookmen records but Bookmen."

"Exactly!"

"No."

Lavi pouted.

They had been on the train for quite a long time before Allen finally looked up, then took in their surroundings with deep confusion.

"You spaced out, beansprout," Lavi explained casually. "I figured we didn't have time to wait for you to wake up, so I just led you here. You know how you get."

Allen grimaced, slightly embarrassed, and looked over to the Avengers, either talking or ignoring each other a compartment away. "Sorry. What did you tell them?"

Lavi shrugged, looking out the window. "Told them you were talking to Neah. You space out then, too, you know, just not as bad. How the hell would _they _know the difference, anyway?" He grinned, but there was no mirth behind it.

Allen gave him a relieved smile. "Thanks." Changing the subject, he asked, "Did I miss anything?"

"Not much," Lavi said dismissively. "Loki got pelted with questions by Stark, but he seemed pretty interested in you, so he wasn't answering much. He stopped staring when Thor started talking to him, though." He nodded to where the two brothers were still talking, Thor in tones audible even through the wall.

Allen nodded, smiled again, and leaned back, looking out the window, not really seeing anything.

Human bodies were designed to hold one soul, and one soul only. This was why most exorcists were equipment type users, and a part of why parasitic type users had such short life expectancies. Something about Innocence allowed this rule to bend, for equipment type users who bonded with the soul of the Innocence fragment, and to break, for parasitic type users who actually housed it within them.

Likewise, human minds are designed to channel a single set of thoughts. This, in turn, was why the host's mind and soul were traditionally burned away when the Noah awoke, and the Noah itself reinforced the body to accommodate the extra raw power that came with it.

Allen, though, contained two active minds and three active souls. There wasn't much room left for turmoil; Allen was very glad that he was well used to managing his long before Neah woke in him. Every once in a while, though, Allen was caught off-guard.

When that happened, Allen's conscious mind would sort of clock out, sinking into a haze. It could be hours before he managed to wake up from it, with nothing to show for it but a sort of lingering pain, the source of which he could never quite identify.

"Still," Lavi added, snapping him out of his trance and drawing his attention, "I'm glad you snapped out of it when you did, beansprout. We're here."

He nodded to the window, making Allen look back. Sure enough, they were slowing to a stop in a station, before which lay a – by all appearances – peaceful town.

It was only seconds after that that Allen's eye whirled to life, the silver gear settling over it as a grim smile settled over Allen's mouth.

Showtime.

* * *

**First, the Allen thing? Totally out of the blue. I wrote the first part, and Allen's mumbling to Neah was Allen mumbling to Neah. Then Lavi just had to say 'You spaced out again, beansprout', and in my head, he said it in this _tone, _all gentle-like and wry, and suddenly, _this. _What the heck?**

**Anyway, I have now gone through my entire storyline and have a better idea of what's going to happen. I have also discovered that this is quite possibly the second-biggest writing project I've taken on, which is kind of exciting. Also, at the risk of being obvious (not that most of you are going to get the right idea anyway), does anyone know anything about the Red Room? Because I don't and I need details, people. Please? Oh, and please review!**


	8. Touch and Go

**A/N: Whee! Chapter! (I am way too happy about this...) I'm still developing the precise order of things and I think I've actually got everything completely planned out, at least in basics. Not just WHAT, but WHEN, too.**

**Title: Fear of Infinity**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Loki mentions two more Infinity Stones, aside from the Tesseract, that fell to Earth thousands of years before, the Avengers are thrown into a centuries-old war between Dark Matter and Innocence - also known as the stones of Mind and Soul.**

**Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.**

* * *

The moment they stepped onto the station, Allen's eye activated in a whir of machinery, and Tony looked over with interest to find a gear slowly spinning over his left eye, silver one cool and calculating as his gaze swept over the town, a smaller gear by the large one flicking back and forth as if anxious.

Before Tony got a chance to asked what it was – and he really, really wanted to know what it was – Lavi gave Allen a silent, serious nod. Allen nodded back and slipped off, while Lavi lingered back, green eye gone wary and suspicious, hand hovering casually by his belt.

Clint was reminded sharply of Natasha during her first few months at SHIELD.

Of course, Natasha had been a lot worse.

"What is our plan of battle?" Thor asked Steve, a little too loudly and, Lavi thought privately, a little too gleefully.

Fighting akuma was _serious business._

At least, fighting this many akuma.

…OK, so Lavi was looking forward to it, too. But from a rookie, it was just uncalled for.

At that moment, Loki caught his eye and smirked at him. And in the same way that Allen told Lavi that people could see the pages of unwritten history before his eyes, he found that experience of aeons etched behind Loki's.

For just a moment, a frown, deep and pensive, flashed across Lavi's face, but then he lifted his head and returned the challenge with one of his own.

Loki's smirk only widened as he looked away.

Oblivious to the byplay, Steve answered Thor's question with a shrug and looked at Lavi. Thor followed Steve's lead and looked at Lavi expectantly.

Lavi took his contemplative gaze from Loki and returned his attention to the group at large.

"Allen's keeping a lookout for akuma," Lavi explained, reaching into his pocket to pull out six silver pins. To Bruce's questioning look, he elaborated, "His eye can see the souls of akma; he's the only exorcist that can tell them from humans for certain."

"How?" Tony interrupted, intensely interested.

Lavi, about to pass out the pins, paused to shrug. "Hell if I know," he said offhandedly.

"It is a curse, is it not?" Loki asked with a frown.

Tension rippled through Lavi's frame, there and gone in the blink of an eye. "Yeah," he agreed, though his tone suggested there was more to it. Before one of them could ask, though, he continued, "Since you're not really exorcists, you don't need uniforms, but you're _really _gonna want these." He indicated the pins they now held.

"Why's that?" Clint asked, turning the pin over in his hands.

"It tells people that you're working for the Black Order," Lavi explained. "But more importantly, it tells the akuma that you're an exorcist; that's why the finders don't have them." He nodded to Coulson, who had not received a pin.

Clint dropped the pin.

"But the element of surprise is among the best of tools a warrior can use," Thor objected, brow furrowed. Loki smirked to himself a little, though it was fond. Thor had made more of an effort to listen to his advice after he'd returned. It made a nice change from Thor just barging in head first. "Why would you eliminate that ability?"

"They didn't have it in the first place," Coulson explained, the first to catch on.

"Exactly," Lavi agreed. He tapped the insignia on his chest. "This is to take away _their _element of surprise."

"But we can't…" Natasha's eyes narrowed suddenly. "Tell them apart."

"Exactly," Lavi repeated, satisfied.

"I'm lost," Bruce announced, pinning it to the thigh of his pants anyway. No point putting it where he'd lose it as soon as he Hulked out, which was looking to be sooner rather than later.

"Without the emblem, it's left to the hand of Fate," Loki explained in a clipped tone.

"But the Rose Cross makes it more likely that if they approach you, they're an akuma," Lavi confirmed with a grim grin.

Steve made a concerned noise. "But what about the ones who are genuinely human?"

Lavi sighed and straightened up slightly, arms crossing over his chest almost defensively. "An akuma can kill you in less time than it takes to blink," he said, slowly and carefully. "Their bullets contain a virus that spreads throughout your body and kills you, unless you amputate the infected portion before it can spread."

Bruce closed his eyes and took a deep, slow breath, counting to ten under his breath. Finally, once he was sure he wasn't going to Hulk out, he asked, "How long does that give you?"

Lavi gave a mirthless grin. "Seconds."

Bruce's heart monitor started to beep in objection and he went back to breathing.

"We would appreciate it if you didn't intentionally wind up Doctor Banner," Coulson informed Lavi blandly.

Lavi frowned. Then, "Right. Rage monster." To Coulson, "I'm not winding him up. It is how it is."

Steve nearly asked if the body was safe to handle. Nearly. But with the way Loki's mouth twisted slightly, he figured that it wasn't a safe question.

That seemed to be the general trend of things, here.

Lavi considered for a moment, and then, finally, continued, "There are four levels of akuma. Level ones are the weakest and the dumbest; they're the ones that all look basically the same. Level twos are a little smarter, but not much. Each of them has a different special ability…" Lavi chuckled a little, shrugging slightly. "But we take those as they come. Level threes are the bipedal ones in armor. If there's one of those here, Allen and I'll take care of it." He grinned for a moment, but it faded rapidly as he finished. "Level fours look like baby reject angels." Tony opened his mouth to question that, a grin of amusement on his face, but Lavi talked over him. "If you see one, run."

"Run?" Thor questioned with a frown.

"Run," Lavi agreed. Catching their expressions, he sighed. "That's not going to happen, is it?"

"You're both _younger _than we are," Clint pointed out, sounding mildly offended that Lavi had even _considered _that they _might _run. "Both of you put together are _still _younger than most of us. We're not going to run."

Lavi let out a frustrated huff. "Whatever," he grumbled.

"Case in point," Tony muttered to Clint, who snickered.

"Go on, then," Lavi added, nodding ahead.

"Full steam ahead," Tony declared, starting on into the town. "Mission Blow Infinity Stone Bits to Bits is underway.

"Great," Bruce muttered, eying the people around them warily.

Lavi dropped back to watch them with interest, a little way away. Allen joined him a moment later.

"So far, so good?" Lavi asked.

Allen nodded. Lavi could see both his silver and cursed eyes tracking a few of the humans carefully, and, absently, he memorized the face of each one. Just in case.

As they progressed through the streets, Lavi could see the Avengers getting more and more tense as not a single akuma made to approach. Only Bruce, carefully keeping calm until the right moment, and Coulson, bland as ever, seemed unaffected. Lavi did note that the faces he'd made note of previously reappeared several times.

Finally, one little girl scurried up to Steve and looked up at him with wide green eyes. "Sir," she said, voice high and childish. "Won't you please buy an orange? They're juicy." She held up a small orange in example.

He hesitated.

She transformed.

* * *

**Dang. It's been a while since I DELIBERATELY left a cliffhanger that bad. *grin* And I've NEVER left the same cliffhanger twice. I really did mean for the battle to happen this chapter, but Lavi just kept talking, and the Avengers were questioning EVERYTHING. With good reason, granted. Please review! Next chapter done, but my internet'll be spotty for the next month so I'm not sure when it'll be up.**

**Also, I have six OCs lined up right now. That's all that'll be making an appearance. If you object, say so now. I probably won't change anything and they definitely won't take anything resembling a center role, but they will be present. But. If you object, I might reduce their prominence a little further.**

**Finally, still looking for information on the Red Room. I have received none. If I continue to receive none, I will have to make up my own info and it will be distinctly non-canon info. Please?**


	9. Crashing Roar

**A/N: As a treat, and also because I'm not going to get a lot of internet time to update as I please, I'm posting this today instead of some other time. Also, I just realized that, despite having FINISHED my basic timeline, I now need to EDIT it because I forgot about the Third Exorcists entirely. And I don't understand the Third Exorcists that well, so this is a problem. Dammit.**

**Title: Fear of Infinity**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Loki mentions two more Infinity Stones, aside from the Tesseract, that fell to Earth thousands of years before, the Avengers are thrown into a centuries-old war between Dark Matter and Innocence - also known as the stones of Mind and Soul.**

**Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.**

* * *

Steve reacted just in time, swinging his shield off his back and ducking behind it just as the akuma fired, only hitting the vibranium surface of the shield.

"Innocence, activate," he hissed. Toxic green spun around the rim of his shield to form a bright lime ring. His words, though, were echoed behind him, and a luminescent rod had buried itself in the akuma before it was done transforming.

Steve looked up to find Clint with his bow out and up, glowing green, eyes dark and focused on the dead akuma.

"Careful, Cap," he warned, voice low, deadly serious.

Steve nodded silently and straightened up. Behind, Lavi whistled.

"Damn," he muttered. "Never seen reflexes like that outside a parasite before."

The akuma exploded into dust about then, and Lavi frowned as a light concentration of gas began to settle into the air.

"Ah, crap," he muttered. "I forgot to tell them that akuma gas is poisonous."

Allen turned his head to give Lavi an incredulous look. "Lavi. That's _important."_

"Yeah, yeah," Lavi muttered, a little embarrassed.

As it turned out, though, this was a virtual non-issue, because at that moment, an akuma transformed from a man in a business suit. Then another out of a woman in a nice dress. Then a third, a teen boy in ragged jeans.

Then, abruptly, they weren't in the middle of a peaceful small-town street at all; they were in the midst of a battle that was already viciously in progress, and they were not prepared.

Coulson took advantage of the momentary mayhem this resulted in to duck away from the Avengers and toward the crowds of citizens, who were only just getting over their shock and starting to scream when he made to usher them away.

Several of them transformed and tried to kill him.

Coulson was unaffected.

Natasha's gun was drawn and active in as little time as it took to say the words, blazing lime bullets shooting from the barrel.

A few of them, she noted with a furrow of her brow and a brief glance downward, didn't come out on the first try.

Bruce had Hulked out within seconds, shirt tearing open and expression twisting into pain and rage, violent green sparks crackling along his body. Soon he was tromping off, fists smashing into akuma indiscriminately and with great glee.

Thor was swinging his hammer, driving it into akuma after akuma, a feral grin on his face and an excited gleam in his eyes. Loki hung back, covering Clint as he hustled up to the nearest impossibly high and nigh unreachable perch and making sure that all akuma attempts to sneak up on Thor ended in explosions and noxious dead akuma gas. Not that they were aware that it was noxious yet.

All in all, Lavi thought, letting his hammer enlarge as it dropped into his waiting hand, they adjusted pretty quickly to all this.

Then again, he supposed that this was the part that they were used to, the fighting, even at the drop of a hat. Maybe especially at the drop of the hat. It was the paranoia, the despair that they weren't used to. Not yet.

They would be, Lavi supposed. Eventually.

Tony, though, was having trouble, jumping around avoiding akuma and not able to stop long enough to focus on summoning his armor. Lavi moved to cover him, but a swish of white and Allen was already there.

"I'll cover you!" he called to Stark with a smile, already turning, the long claws of his left hand flexing slightly in anticipation.

"Gotcha, beansprout!" Tony returned, having already picked up on Lavi's nickname for the young exorcist.

"My _name _is _Allen!" _Allen complained. A moment later, he leapt into the air, lashing out at a row of akuma. "Edge End!" he added, setting his claws aglow and making the blow that much more deadly.

Tony crouched down slightly, and with Allen keeping the akuma off his back, he closed his eyes and summoned the armor to himself. Each piece snapped into place one by one, rapidly covering his body, and each one bringing a little spark from the Innocence in his arc reactor, making it glow brighter and his grin wider.

Finally, he straightened, gold-titanium gauntlets curling into fists, and he gained a feral grin only JARVIS saw.

"Bring it on," he challenged, firing up the armor in a blaze of green.

Just then, the Hulk landed hard beside Allen, nearly squashing him. Allen didn't mind too much, just flashing a smile up at the bulky monster and taking off to delve into the depths of the fight, a little too pleased with this turn of events. The Hulk ignored him, gleefully tackling the first of the level twos, a bipedal with hammers for arms and a manic grin that soon reversed.

It didn't get to do much smashing.

"HULK SMASH!" Hulk bellowed at the smear of akuma on the pavement, stomping his feet and huffing proudly even as green sparks of Innocence ran up and down his arms.

"Yeah!" cheered Lavi, apparently pleased by this. Exorcists were _insane, _Steve thought warily, watching as Lavi brought down his (huge!) hammer on an akuma before it had time to do more than open its mouth. It was kind of alarming. "Go, Hulk!"

Hulk looked at Lavi and grinned, exposing his large tombstone teeth, and then moved on to hammer his fists on the akuma.

That one level two signaled the beginning of a whole wave of them, the level ones becoming simple afterthoughts in between.

Lavi had to admit, watching the Avengers fight was definitely awe-inspiring, even against an unfamiliar foe. They worked together seamlessly; Clint shot down an akuma pursuing Natasha as she got a lift from Tony onto the back of one akuma with an impenetrable-skin power that apparently didn't stand up well to bullets at point blank range. She called out a warning to Thor even as Steve nodded at him, and Thor threw his hammer into the trajectory of Steve's shield, sending both careening in different directions as Thor rolled out of the way of the falling akuma, which Natasha swung off of to collide feet first with a sword-armed akuma sneaking up on Loki. Loki gave her a curt nod and clenched his fist, blowing up another akuma before it could sneak up on Thor.

Unbeknownst to Lavi and Allen, the Avengers were having fairly similar thoughts about them, if substantially more disturbed. Allen leapt and took out an entire row of akuma with a swing of his claws, while Lavi grinned and called out, "Fire Seal: Hellfire and Ash!"

They didn't have to wonder what that did for long, because what happened was that a _giant fire snake _came out of the ground and started killing akuma.

Steve was _very _certain that the future was only getting more insane, and now it was getting _disturbing _as well. This did not make him happy.

Nor was he any happier when Tony suddenly noted, "He looks like a clown." Then, _"Why _does he look like a clown?"

Within moments of this, Steve noted that Allen _did _look somewhat like a clown.

As he noted this at the same time Allen activated Cross Grave, causing a large number of akuma to blow up, it did not make the situation anymore lighthearted.

"Whoa-a-a, what's that?" Clint asked over the comm, sounding mildly alarmed.

'That' was a bipedal, very _dangerous looking _armored thing, presumably a level three akuma, flying through the air to land hard on the ground, creating a small crater.

And for the first time, Steve heard an akuma speak. As none of the others had really had time to say much. Except 'Innocence'. He gathered that they hated Innocence, which made sense when tallied with Loki's explanation of the Soul and Mind Stones' rivalry, not that that made this _any less disturbing._

"Exorcists!" it crowed, sounding entirely too delighted. "Master Noah told me to expect some, but which ones are you?"

"Does it matter?" asked Lavi casually, cocking an eyebrow. "You're dead no matter _who _we are."

"We'll see," it crooned, head turning to look at Clint, high on his perch. A moment later, "Say goodbye, _exorcist."_

He didn't even see him move.

"Where'd it go?" Clint demanded, turning his head back and forth. Within moments, he spotted the akuma, honey yellow armor giving him away in the brand-new crater a little way away, Allen's distinctive white cloak standing over it, and a sword that hadn't been there before buried in its chest, an unforgiving expression on the boy's face.

Allen murmured something to it, but none of them could quite hear what. Whatever it was, it made the akuma chuckle as it crumbled away.

The battle didn't last long after that, just a haze of chaos and adrenaline and akuma after akuma crumbling, leaving behind billows of strange gas.

Finally, they stood in the middle of the half-decimated street, breathing heavily and a little worse for the wear.

"All clear?" Lavi asked Allen between panted breaths.

Allen looked around, gaze intent, and then relaxed. "Not a one," he answered. "Let's get out of here."

Lavi grinned tiredly and nodded, pulling up his scarf and tying it around his head so that it covered his mouth and nose.

"Uh, why-" Clint coughed, not managing to finish his question.

"Lavi forgot to tell you that akuma gas is toxic," Allen explained, sending Lavi a slightly dirty look. "So everyone except Mr. Stark and the Hulk should cover their mouths and noses until we're out of it."

"Why not us?" Tony questioned, landing beside him.

"You're immune," Allen explained. "Because your Innocence is parasitic, it purifies your body of the akuma virus."

Steve nodded in acknowledgement, pulling up his shirt to cover his mouth and nose. Thor, Natasha and Clint followed suit, and Loki conjured up a handkerchief to do the same.

Lavi grinned again and spun his hammer in one hand, watching it shrink, and finally stuck in back into his belt. "Mission accomplished," he declared, voice slightly muffled. "Now let's go. This place stinks of akuma."

"Does it ever," Clint muttered, following Lavi as the exorcist started to move away somewhat hastily from the clouds of noxious gas.

"It's only been one day since we joined up with the Order and already things are becoming alarming," Tony noted with interest, following with clanking steps. "I like it."

"You won't for long," Lavi threw over his shoulder, casting them yet another grin. "It's all downhill from here, folks. You ain't seen nothing yet."

* * *

**Battle scenes really aren't my strong suit, huh? *frown* Nor akuma speech. It all sucks. My akuma speech, I mean. Crap, all of it. Oh, well. It's not like akuma stick around for any substantial period of time. Thanks to all who gave me info, and please review!**


	10. Sheltered Life

**A/N: I live! I'm back and once again have internet access, so updates will return to being semi-regular, because this is still by far my favorite story. Go ahead and read!**

**Title: Fear of Infinity**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Loki mentions two more Infinity Stones, aside from the Tesseract, that fell to Earth thousands of years before, the Avengers are thrown into a centuries-old war between Dark Matter and Innocence - also known as the stones of Mind and Soul.**

**Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.**

* * *

Soon enough, they had settled on an abandoned street, hiding away from the remaining forty-seven percent of the population long enough to recover their bearings.

Steve, Allen soon noted, was frowning at his hands, which were smeared with red. Allen frowned and headed over to him, concerned.

"What happened?" he asked, looking at them. The gloves were cut open, and there was a smear of red that was clearly blood, though the cuts were already healing. He'd forgotten that Steve possessed a healing factor.

Steve frowned. "My shield cut me," he explained, slightly disbelieving. He hadn't really taken more than a dim note in the heat of battle, but now it concerned him.

Allen frowned, too. "That's odd," he murmured. "It should have compensated for it – dulled the blade where you caught it. Did you make it angry with you?"

Steve gave him a disturbed look. Allen shrugged, a little sheepishly.

"Innocence… is a little more sentient than most people know," Lavi explained, coming up beside them and picking up the still-activate shield to examine it with interest, noting that the edges were as sharp as any blade.

"That is characteristic of any item of great power," Loki allowed cautiously, watching as Steve's hands finished healing. "It would be far more alarming for it to be insentient, though I am not certain how the Stones are special in this."

"Great," Clint muttered."

"Is that why my gun wasn't shooting well?" Natasha asked suspiciously.

"Probably," Lavi admitted, setting the shield down.

A series of loud crunches signaled the Hulk's arrival, and they looked up at him as he approached in huge, clumsy footsteps. Finally, he announced, in a low, displeased tone,

"Green light not like Hulk."

Loki crossed his arms and started grumbling about independent items of power that didn't do as they were meant. At some point he started glowering at Tony's arc reactor, so Tony figured he was using fond memories to support his arguments to himself.

Tony let himself lean against a still-intact wall and smirked. "JARVIS, disengage the armor," he ordered.

A moment passed in which nothing happened. Tony frowned.

"JARVIS?" he inquired.

JARVIS' voice came clipped and inflectionless, as it always did when he was worried. "I seem to be unable to disengage the armor, sir."

There was a long silence. Lavi opened his mouth to make a guess. Tony beat him to it.

"Innocence, disengage the armor."

As if to say 'you only had to ask', the Innocence sparked out from the arc reactor to cover the armor in a bright green light. A moment later, it sank into his skin, not a trace left behind, and he fell a few inches to land neatly on the ground and grin.

"I think it likes me."

Loki grumbled, but he was the only one speaking, and even that soon trailed off in favor of a furrowed brow. Tony's grin faltered almost imperceptibly, fading slowly as it sank in.

It was some time before anyone actually spoke, but finally, Lavi shattered the silence with a wide, too-casual grin.

"Well, obviously it's not a _true _bond," he said conversationally, as though they 'd been discussing the matter for some time.

"Right," Allen agreed readily. "Mr. Stark just made a deal with his Innocence. Exorcists do it all the time, and the effects aren't always permanent."

"And with circumstances like these, it's almost certain not to be," Lavi continued, tone painfully casual. "So there's really no need to report it to Central. It's not even worth mentioning outside of my report to the old panda. He doesn't read those anymore, anyway."

"Fair enough," Allen conceded with a smile.

Loki's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but Tony beat him to it, fingers drumming on the rim of the arc reactor.

"Let's say," he said, expression careless, eyes intent, "that it _was _a true bond. What then?"

Allen was the one who looked at him and smiled.

"Well, then you would be an exorcist."

"Which means…?" Loki let the question hand, one eyebrow raised.

"Exorcists are the Order's most valuable asset," Lavi explained, green gaze focused on something a thousand miles away, or perhaps a thousand years ago. "They are the only offensive forces at its disposal. Because of this, numerous attempts to replicate their abilities or even they themselves have been made, but each one has ended in dismal failure. So instead, they make sure to keep the ones they _do _have, which can mean anything from treating them before anyone else, to tying them down if they try to run, or even transplanting the brain of a dead exorcist into a new body."

He didn't say _'they can never escape.'_

He didn't really need to.

Lavi blinked, eye refocusing on the here and now, and smiled cheerfully. "But that doesn't matter, because you're _not an exorcist."_

To his credit, Tony barely blinked, flattening his hand over the arc reactor, before he smiled, as cheerful as Lavi's. "Of course not. I don't have crazy eyes."

While both exorcists tried to figure out what that had to do with anything, Clint resisted the urge to say that he kind of did.

A camp was already being set up for those whose homes had been destroyed by the time the Avengers and the exorcists had arrived. Bruce had de-Hulked, and Thor had taken it upon himself to carry him, ignoring the looks shot at him, which ranged from concerned to wary.

They ended up sharing four tents near the edge of the encampment, and then another for Natasha, which she soon found herself sharing with another woman, who, fortunately for Natasha, preferred to keep to herself.

Nonetheless, she ducked into Clint's tent soon enough, and before long, Loki, Thor, Tony, and Steve joined them, crowding _everyone _out of the tent and causing them to end up circled outside.

At that moment, Lavi popped back out of his tent, looking at them expectantly. "Anyone hurt?" he asked offhandedly, green eye flicking over them.

"We're fine," Steve assured him, giving him a concerned look. "Are you and Allen alright?"

Lavi whistled appreciatively. "Damn. Superheroes, man." He shook his head, grinning. "Allen's got a burn on his leg, but besides that?" He grinned and punched the air. "Score!" He winced. "Ow."

"You liar," Clint accused with a grin as Lavi bit back a curse and clamped a hand over his arm.

"Yeah, yeah," Lavi grumbled halfheartedly. "Shut up. Damn invincible superheroes." He shook his head again. "Allen's going to go help out around camp. Anyone else?"

"I'll help," Steve volunteered immediately, making to stand. "The people around here were nice enough to let us in, it's the least I can do."

"You sound like Allen," Lavi complained, chuckling a little anyway.

"I will help also," Thor offered. Loki rolled his eyes, but nodded anyway. He'd gotten used to repair work, after. Even if this wasn't his fault.

Mostly.

"I'll ask Brucie when he wakes up," Tony asserted. "Then I'll go… move rubble. Or something." Just remembering the destruction made him uncomfortable.

And he had a lot to think about, anyway.

Natasha and Clint didn't say anything, but they nodded, too. Coulson just tilted his head toward them and slipped off silently to go on alone.

Soon enough, Allen emerged from his and Lavi's tent, the only evidence of the apparent burn on his leg being a slight limp, almost unnoticeable. "Let's go," he said with a smile.

They went to the first unofficial director they saw, easy to identify by the concentration on their face and the people occasionally going to them for direction.

The man smiled at them in gratitude and then sent them off in teams – Loki and Thor to move debris, Natasha and Clint to set up more shelters, and then Allen and Steve to hand out food.

They'd been passing out food with no word to each other for quite some time before Steve finally spoke, asking the question that had been bothering him for some time.

"How long have you been doing this?"

Allen started slightly and looked up at him questioningly. "Doing what?"

"Hunting akuma."

Allen let out a little 'oh' sound and smiled. "Since I was about ten. That's when Master Cross took me in and made me his apprentice. I wasn't officially an exorcist until I was fifteen, though."

"Why when you were ten?" asked Steve, disturbed.

Allen paused, his face shutting down. Then he smiled again. Blankly. "That's when my Innocence activated."

There was more to it. Steve didn't ask.

They worked in silence for a few more minutes. Every time they ducked into a tent, Allen would smile at the occupant, friendly and supportive, and Steve, either a step behind or a step ahead, would smile, too, apologetic and earnest.

Steve, again, was the one who restarted the conversation. "You seem to really enjoy this."

Allen looked up at him, smiled, and nodded. "I do. Everyone here is so brave, and it is partially my fault, so I feel like I should help. Besides, it's nice to be able to meet all these people." His expression was comfortable, almost content, like he was more at home handing out food to people he'd never met than anywhere else. He looked at Steve. "You seem like you understand. Don't you?"

Steve thought back to refugee camps and ambushed towns and nodded. "I do."

Allen smiled, as if to say 'See?', and turned away, poking his head gently into the newest tent. "Ma'am? Would you like something to eat?"

Steve smiled and they went back to work.

* * *

**Now this chapter I like, even if it's not all that exciting. For those who may be concerned that this will become a trend, I promise that Tony is the only Avenger scheduled to become an exorcist. He just fits the bill _so well. _I swear, the only thing keeping him from being an exorcist in canon is the lack of Innocence in his universe. Anyway, please review and let me know what you thought!**

**By the way, a friend of mine said something about my writing and now I'm kind of curious. How old do you people think I am? *curious look***


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